Claire Schwartz, 2026

Claire Schwartz said she joined the UMass iCons Program because, “I could actually put ideas into solutions and work with other people to come up with my own original things.” Claire is a first-year Public Health Sciences and Commonwealth Honors College student who is excited to work with diverse groups of students to address real problems.

Claire learned about iCons during one of her classes and she said, “I like the idea of bringing a lot of STEM majors together.” She is on the Biomedicine/Biosystems track.

In her first iCons class, ICONS 189H, Claire worked on a project addressing water conservation. Her team examined water-use habits and the efficacy of water habit education in improving people’s water usage.

Claire values the importance of everyone’s voice being heard in group work and hopes to put that value into practice during her time in iCons. She said, “We get a lot more done once we bring a little bit of what everyone is good at into what we’re doing.”

Claire plans to minor in molecular biology. She is primarily interested in combining the biology of the Public Health Sciences major with a foundation in molecular biology in the future. She hopes iCons will help her achieve her goals.

Outside of iCons, Claire wants to explore other opportunities while at UMass. She hopes to join a Spanish and Portuguese organization to connect more with her family’s Brazilian roots. She also wants to find volunteer opportunities and meet new people on campus. She said, “The thing I want to do in college is try, try, try!”

Profile posted in 2023.